Since that day I’ve read a lot of books [...]]]> I went straight to the bookstore after I got the “I’m sorry it’s cancer” phone call; surely amongst all the wisdom coded into letters and words, pressed to paper, and bound to books, would be some little snippet that would tell me how to move forward.

Since that day I’ve read a lot of books about living with cancer, but when Katherine Malmo placed the slender, uncorrected galley of “who in this room” in my hands, I knew I was in possession of something different.

Katherine’s book did not tell me how to move forward. But it was the first I’ve read that really connected with me on how it feels to have cancer.

That’s not to say the book is touchy-feely, in fact, it’s quite the opposite. One of my favorite quotes from the book shows her trepidation at joining a cancer support group: “You are afraid someone will try to hold your hand or leap from behind the ficus to hug you.” That pretty much sums up the way I felt the first time I walked into a support group meeting with the Young Survival Coalition.

I’m a little embarrassed to admit that I’ve had this book for well over a month, and I’ve been struggling with how to write this review.  I want to tell you that reading this book is like going through the process of diagnosis, treatment, grieving, and moving on – but then who would want to read a book described like that?

And I do want you to read this book. I want my friends to read it. I want my family to read it. Because even though this is Kate’s story, it is my story, too. And the story of all my friends who have looked cancer in the eye, and stared down death… even if only for a little while.

This is not a sad book. This is not a book that is just about cancer, although that obviously drives the story line. This is a story about getting up every day and living. And this is a book that ends at the start of her brand new life.

The launch party is on Sunday, October 2, 2pm, at Elliott Bay Books.

Katherine also writes the blog Hysterical Mommy Network.

But [...]]]> When thinking of banned and contested books, it’s easy to conjure up images of the repression that existed in America during the 1950s. Sure, we’ve all heard of the book burning parties, and we all know that Diary of Anne Frank and Of Mice and Men
were banned back in the day.

But the repression hasn’t ended.

The assault on knowledge and ideas and discussion and diversity marches on. In 21st Century America book burning parties continue, as do attempts at banning books in libraries.

Here is a partial list of the banned and contested books from just this past year.

Alexie, Sherman. The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian. Indian kid goes to an all white school.

Anonymous. Go Ask Alice. Don’t do drugs.

Bowden, Mark. Black Hawk Down: A Story of Modern War. War is violent.

Hosseini, Khaled. The Kite Runner. All’s fair in love and war – one of my favorite books

Lee, Harper. To Kill a Mockingbird. I think everyone should read this book.

Maguire, Gregory. Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West. Tells the other side of the story of the Wizard of Oz.

Meyer, Stephenie H. The Twilight Series. Vampires from a Mormon’s perspective.

Picoult, Jodi. My Sister’s Keeper. Little sister doesn’t want to donate her kidney.

Pullman, Philip. The Golden Compass. Religion can have a dark side.

Richardson, Justin, and Peter Parnell. And Tango Makes Three. The world is not suffering from too much love.

Salinger, J. D. The Catcher in the Rye. I am no fan of Holden, but I understand his frustration with hypocrisy.

Seierstad, Åsne. The Bookseller of Kabul. This book was infuriating at times, but it made me think.

Walker, Alice. The Color Purple. resilience.

The irony of book banning is that it’s one of the best ways to get someone to read a book they otherwise might not consider. Read a banned book this week. Check with your local library for more information.

What is your favorite banned book?

I think mine has to be The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood. It’s more relevant today than it was when it was written.

And look at her little hand on Daddy’s hand

The moment Barack Obama officially became the President of the United States, the Presidential website, WhiteHouse.gov, switched over to President Obama’s website.  The new website is built on a much more stable and transparent architecture, and this switch heralds another of many significant changes in the American Presidency:  we now have a President [...]]]>

The moment Barack Obama officially became the President of the United States, the Presidential website, WhiteHouse.gov, switched over to President Obama’s website.  The new website is built on a much more stable and transparent architecture, and this switch heralds another of many significant changes in the American Presidency:  we now have a President that comprehends and values the Age of Information in which we are currently living.

Whether you love him or fear him, I encourage all of you to spend some time exploring the new WhiteHouse.gov website in addition to subscribing to and reading his blog.  To those who are still afraid of President Obama because, as they say, “I don’t know anything about him” (or you, or the people you allow to influence you are making assumptions about him), let me recommend a couple of books penned by the President himself: The Audacity of Hope and Dreams from My Father.  You have the opportunity to get your information from the source, rather than the pundits.  Please take advantage of that opportunity.

I am so excited about this new era of hope and information and transparency and integrity.

You can find the link to President Obama’s Blog here: http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/

And a direct link to opt in to his blog’s feed here: http://www.whitehouse.gov/rss/

I was shocked at the turnout. We spent the first part of the talk standing in [...]]]> This afternoon we hopped in the truck and tootled our way over to the Ballard Library for a reading and book signing with Marjane Satrapi. Marjane Satrapi is best known for her books Persepolis, Persepolis 2 and Embroideries.

I was shocked at the turnout. We spent the first part of the talk standing in the doorway between a tall woman who was kind enough to occasionally turn around and summarize what was just said, and the old woman who kept pressing her cane into my toes – I’m sorry I’m as far over as I can get, I’m not standing in your way just cuz I don’t like old people, I literally can’t move.

I spent the first few minutes of the talk wondering why I was actually still standing there. Aside from the fact that my husband really wanted to be there, I couldn’t see a damn thing, I was being jostled around by people with absolutely no manners, packed in like sardines with lots of people and let me make this very clear – I hate people. I had my eye’s closed straining to hear Ms. Satrapi over the chatter of the people behind me talking about how they couldn’t hear, when I was shoved again, this time from the front as people were trying to make their way out. I let the lady with the cane in ahead of me and after a few more people left we were able to inch our way inside the room and so was able to hear most of the second half of her talk – which was the question and answer section. I didn’t hear most of the questions, but her answers were illuminating anyways.

She has another book coming out in the fall that will be called Chicken with Plums and Persepolis will be made into an animated feature film, it will be black and white and the role of her mother will be voiced by Catherine Deneuve.

She made it clear that she didn’t have answers to questions about Iranian foreign policy or nuclear weapons “If I say I support Iran’s right to have nuclear weapons, then I am siding with the Islamic Regime; if I say Iran should not have nuclear weapons, I’m saying ‘Please Mr. Bush, invade my country.’”

When asked about the American war against Iraq she mentioned that 80% of the world’s population live under evil dictatorships, but few of the other countries have resources of interest to the United States. As far as the Islamic fundamentalists are concerned, she said that fundamentalists of any persuasion, whether it is Islamic, or Jewish, or Christian, or Secular (yes there are secular fundamentaists too) ARE the problem, the fundamentalist point of view precludes thought and reason and especially learning.

Ms. Satrapi grew up in revolutionary Iran. The revolution occured when she was 10 years old, and Iraq attacked a year later. The Shaw was an oppressive dictator. The Iranian Revolution, like the French Revolution centuries earlier, overthrew and evil government that oppressed the people and had to go. Unfortunately, in both cases, the government that rose up to fill the void was just a different kind of evil. On the topic of democracy she said “Democracy is a cultural shift more than a political one. It will take time. You cant force democracy.”

The world is full of idiots and that wont stop. Often the idiots are more alike than different. George W. Bush and Mahmoud Ahmadinejad have more in common than just a messiah complex. On the topic of dictators, she was careful to specify that it was not a comment against men. “Dictators are raised by their mothers. Their mothers teach them how to be.”

Ms. Satrapi currently lives in France with her Swedish husband. She speaks 6 languages and is a huge supporter of education. Continuous learning for everyone is the most important thing. She also believes that the more you travel the better a person you become because you can shed the brainwashing by experiencing the truth. The more points of view you can understand the better a person you become. She finds that often, in France, she is the defender of Americans to the French, because she has been to America and experienced American people despite the brainwashing against americans she experienced as a child in Iran and in France.

She talked for quite a while, and there was a lot that she said that I missed, but I would stand in a croweded room to hear her speak again in a heartbeat, and you can bet I’ll be getting Chicken with Plumbs as soon as it hits the stores.